Say What?

A three year old kid was sitting in the back of a car eating an apple.  He noticed it was turning brown and asked his dad why?  His dad replied, “because after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing its molecular structure and turning it into a different colour.”  There was a long pause and then the kid asked, “daddy are you talking to me?”
The way I communicate matters. As I recently read, “every meaningful relationship requires significant communication.”  Sometimes what is said may be right, but not right for the situation.
I must admit it is one of the reasons I write the way I do.  When faced with a choice of using a big word (ok it does not happen a lot as I don’t know that many big words, but it can happen), or one which more people know, I will go for the commonly used one.  My thinking is I would prefer more to get where I am coming from than limit it to those who understand what may be a mostly unheard of word.
Even then communication is more than what I say.  Some research shows that words only account for under 10% of communication.  That is why someone called Peter Druker said “the most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”
I have mixed results with communication.  Sometimes I feel what I have said is understood, while at other times the response looks like “say what?” or “what you talkin about Willis.” (for those like me born last century).  The point for me is that it is not safe for me to assume what I say has been understood or taken the way I meant it.”  There are times I am told I said something I know I never said.  I think it is safer to say something I said was heard a certain way.
It is one of the reasons I think communication is so important.  The safest way to know I have heard what is being said is to repeat back my understanding of what was said.  I soon find out if I heard correctly or have missed something.
It seems this communication thing is a lifelong thing.  Sometimes I get it (I know for sure sometimes I am got – that was an attempt at humour) but for sure as said at the beginning, “every meaningful relationship requires significant communication.”